Writing from Sources

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Writing from Sourcesprovides students with a complete guide to the skills of doing research and integrating the results confidently and effectively into their own prose, while providing instructors with all the readings and prompts they need for a complete course in source-based writing. To teach students a reliable process for working with sources, the book builds systematically from simpler skills such as finding a topic and looking for sources to more demanding ones such as choosing appropriate sources and integrating them smoothly with the writer's own ideas, providing detailed guidance and examples for each step. Many exercises and writing assignments, supported by numerous readings ranging from brief excerpts to full essays, provide ample practice in every skill.

BRENDA SPATT taught English at Herbert H. Lehman College of The City University of New York for 13 years before becoming the university's director of academic affairs and then associate dean.

To the Instructor To the Student Citations

PART I. MAKING SOURCES YOUR OWN1. Reading for Understanding Underlining AnnotatingReading: William Leach, from Land of DesireExercise 1: Annotating a Passage*Anne Hollander, from Sex and Suits Asking QuestionsReading: Blanche Blank, A Question of DegreeExercise 2: Understanding What You Read*Jane Bernstein, A Victim of Circumstance Questioning the Author*Reading: Rubén Martínez: The Kindness of StrangersExercise 3: Examining Intention*Martha C. Nussbaum, Cosmopolitan Emotions? Analyzing the Author's Use of Evidence and Reading Interpreting Evidence: InferenceExercise 4: Drawing Inferences*Marshall Poe, The Other Gender Gap Logical Reasoning Analyzing an Author's LogicExercise 5: Analyzing an Author's Logic*Walter Newell, from The Code of Man

PART II. PRESENTING SOURCES TO OTHERS2. Summarizing Sources Summarizing a ParagraphExercise 6: Summarizing a ParagraphAndrew Sullivan, from The Love BloatBradford W. Wright, from Comic Book Nation*Gail Collins, from America's WomenDaniel Boorstin, from Americans: The National Experience*Steven Pinker, from The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature Summarizing an ArticleReading: Selwyn Raab, Holdup Man Tells Detectives How to Do ItExercise 7: Summarizing an Article*Eric Hoover, Crying Foul Over Fans' Boorish Behavior Summarizing a Complex EssayReading: Bertrand Russell, The Social Responsibility of ScientistsAssignment 1: Summarizing an Essay*Shannon E. French, When Teaching the Ethics of War Is Not Academic*Neal Gabler, Our Celebrities, Ourselves*John Taylor Gatto, Against School

4. Paraphrasing Sources Using Paraphrase in Your Essays Using Paraphrase as Preparation for Reading and Writing Essays Writing a Good Paraphrase Paraphrase and Summary Writing an Accurate ParaphraseExercise 14: Identifying a Good Paraphrase*David Barash, from Evolution, Males, and Violence Paraphrasing a Difficult Text Writing a Literal Paraphrase Writing a Free Version of the Literal ParaphraseAssignment 2: Paraphrasing a Difficult Passage Using Paraphrase with Quotation and Summary Reading: Conor Cruise O'Brien, Violence -- And Two Schools of Thought Exercise 15: Distinguishing Between Quotation, Paraphrase, Summary, and Commentary*Felicia R. Lee, Does Class Count in Today's Land of Opportunity? Citing Your Paraphrased Sources Writing a Paragraph that Incorporates Paraphrase and Quotation*Reading: Anthony Swofford, JarheadExercise 16: Writing a Paragraph That Incorporates Paraphrase and Quotation Presenting Sources: A Summary of Preliminary Writing Skills

PART III. WRITING FROM SOURCES5. The Single-Source Essay Strategy One: Arguing Against Your SourceReading: Roger Sipher, So That Nobody Has to Go to School If They Don't Want To Presenting Your Source's Point of View Presenting Your Point of View An Argument Based On a Single SourceReading: Leon Botstein, Let Teenagers Try AdulthoodReading: Carl Singleton, What Our Education System Needs is More FsReading: Jana Dunn, Fixing the American High School SystemAssignment 3: Writing an Argument Based on a Single Source*Reading: Billie Wright Dziech, Forcing Greek Organizations to Go Coeducational Won't Lead to Greater Diversity *Reading: Jonathan Rauch, Now, For Tonight's Assignment...*Reading: Pat Hagan, Falling on Deaf Ears Strategy Two: Developing an Essay Based on a Source Finding and Narrowing a Topic Taking Notes and Writing a Thesis Deciding on a Strategy Structuring Your Essay Writing the Essay Revising the EssayAssignment 4: Writing an Essay Based on a Single Source*Christopher Clausen, An Army of One*Diana Schaub, The Pillars of the Temple of Liberty*Leon Kass, The End of Courtship

6. The Multiple-Source Essay Selecting Information for a Multiple-Source EssayExercise 17: Selecting and Presenting InformationAssignment 5: Writing an Essay from Factual Information Generalizing from Examples Analyzing Multiple SourcesExercise 18: Analyzing Shades of Meaning in Multiple SourcesAssignment 6: Writing a Definition Essay from Multiple Sources Synthesizing Multiple SourcesExercise 19: Identifying Common Ideas Organizing Multiple Sources Reading: Gene I. Maeroff, from Rule Tying Pupil Promotion to Reading Skill Stirs Worry How the Three Steps Work Evaluating Sources Writing a Synthesis EssayExercise 20: Analyzing a Paragraph Based on a Synthesis of Sources Citing Sources for Synthesis*Reading: Alan Wolfe, Moral Freedom: Till Circumstances Do Us PartAssignment 7: Writing an Essay Synthesizing Multiple SourcesTodd Gitlin, Disappearing InkAssignment 8: Writing an Argument from Multiple Sources*Sandeep Jauhar, When Doctors Slam the Door When Not to Synthesize Synthesizing Sources in Academic EssaysReading: Jeffrey Rosen, from The Naked CrowdExercise 21: Integrating Three Academic Sources*Fendrich, Lippit, and Malamud, In This Year's Fashion Jungle, Beastly Patterns Are the Sincerest Form of FakeryAssignment 9: Synthesizing Academic Sources*Bill Coplin, Lost in the Life of the Mind*Marshall Gregory, A Liberal Education Is Not a Luxury

PART IV. WRITING THE RESEARCH ESSAY7. Finding Sources Topic NarrowingExercise 22: Narrowing a TopicExercise 23: Proposing a Topic Locating Sources Interviewing And Field ResearchExercise 24: Writing About an Issue from Multiple Sources Saving and Recording Information for Your BibliographyExercise 25: Compiling a Working BibliographyAssignment 10: Preparing a Topic Proposal for a Research Essay

9. Writing the Research Essay Saving Information Taking NotesExercise 31: Taking Notes on Two TopicsExercise 32: Taking Notes on Three Topics*Stephanie Coontz, from The Way We Never Were: American Families and the Nostalgia Trap Developing a List of Topics Planning a Strategy Arranging the Order of Topics Completing Your OutlineExercise 33: Writing an Outline with Cross-Referencing Writing Integrated Paragraphs Accommodating Argument in Your Paragraphs Presenting Arguments Fairly Integrating Your Sources: An Example Writing an Introduction Using Visuals as SourcesAssignment 11: Organizing and Writing the Research Essay

*Appendix A: Writing Essay Examinations Reading the Question Planning and Developing the Essay Analyzing an Essay and an Essay QuestionReading: George Stade, Football -- The Game of Aggression Answering the Question Introducing Your Topic Presenting Your Essay to the Reader

*Appendix B: Readings for a Research Essay Periodicals*Essays from The Nation, 7/15/91*Debating How Best to Love Your Country (The New York Times, 7/1/00)*John Lukacs, When Democracy Goes Wrong (Harper's, 4/05) Academic Books*Alexis de Tocqueville, from Democracy in America*Leo Tolstoi, Patriotism, or Peace?*Michael Walzer, Civility and Civic Virtue in Contemporary America*Irving Kristol, Urban Civilization and Its Discontents*Sidney Axinn, Honor, Patriotism, and Ultimate Loyalty*Stephen Nathanson, Military Service and Unjust Wars*Maurizio Viroli, Patriotism and Nationalism*Scott McLean, The War on Terrorism and The New Patriotism